Tag: Women

After years toiling at factories in the free trade zones of the Dominican Republic, Santa Castillo knows how difficult it can be to survive on the minimum wage. “A lot of times there was only enough for my kids, and I’d go to bed hungry,” she says. Now the factory where Ms Castillo works has committed to pay three and a half times the minimum wage. Read more »

The Social Studio (TSS) is a Melbourne-based social enterprise which provides young women and men from refugee communities the opportunity to realize their potential as designers, makers and retailers of fashion. Read more »

Since the start of the fasting month my mother has been selling clothing to her friends at her factory. She purchases the clothes from outlets and makes a profit of between 5,000-10,000 Rupiah per item (60 cents to $1.15). From past experience my mother has sold at least 50 pieces. If only she had a bit more start-up capital, I’m sure she could get more clothing to sell. Read more »

Wouldn’t you want enough take home pay to allow you to look after your family and afford the basic necessitiesis of life? This was the simple demand made by more than 68,000 Cambodian workers who went on a weeklong strike to demand a living wage. Read more »

As a worker on a low wage, sometimes I get scared when I imagine my future. I worry that when I am elderly my own situation won’t be that different from my neighbours. Even in their old age they have to work very hard just to scrape by. Read more »

I recently attended a friend’s wedding ceremony. The couple come from different ethnic backgrounds, which made this ceremony quite unique. The bride and groom had to change into four different outfits to pay their respects to each of the parents. They wore Sundanese dress (orange), Javanese dress (green), Lampung and Sumatra dress. In this photo the couple wears an Arabic costume and they are reading prayers from al-Qur’ān. Read more »

Slight, pretty, sharp-eyed, and quietly firm about things – Johanna Kwedhi is Namibia’s first female trawler captain. She is a living example of the empowerment of women in Namibia. Read more »